


The Vigil

by mrs_javert



Category: Star Trek: Picard
Genre: Assassination Attempt(s), Coma, F/F, Poison, Tal Shiar
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-25
Updated: 2021-03-10
Packaged: 2021-03-16 09:00:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,121
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29698152
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mrs_javert/pseuds/mrs_javert
Summary: An assassination attempt leaves Seven in a coma and fighting for her life.Through their visits to her bedside the crew each encourage her along the long road to recovery...
Relationships: Raffi Musiker/Seven of Nine
Comments: 17
Kudos: 17





	1. The assassination attempt...

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks as ever to Trood for being my test subject...

The Vigil

Chapter 1 - The Assassination Attempt.

Sunshine shone down brightly from the clear blue sky over the small and simple town.  
A market sat in the centre of the town with many bright stalls filling the square and sellers voices ringing out with enthusiasm to encourage the many prospective buyers to come and look at their trinkets.  
Raffi stood leaning over of one of the stalls admiring it’s wares of various exotic fabrics, silks and an assortment of jewellery. She “Mmmm”’d out loud as she looked.  
Sensing a potential sale the stall holder looked up in anticipation at the tall woman and picked up a fine red silk.  
“Madam this would look just glorious on a woman of such beautiful looks, glorious!”, he thrust the material enthusiastically before his potential customer and looked hopeful.  
Raffi thought and was about to open her mouth and respond to the charm offensive when she heard a less than subtle tut from her equally less than enthusiastic shopping partner.  
Seven stood next to Raffi. The curly haired woman’s shopping enthusiasm was clearly not shared by the Ranger.  
“Or you perhaps dear lady? A fine silk like this would make a dress to impress suiters galaxy wide!”, the stall holder shifted his attention swiftly away from Raffi and he enthusiastically presented the silk towards Seven.  
A huge smile grew upon Raffi’s face and she turned to both deliberately and obviously look Seven up and down as many thoughts regarding Seven and the silk flashed through her mind.  
“I can think of worse ideas”, the XO playfully teased.  
The single disproving raised eyebrow was enough to silently communicate a firm “no” from Seven without the need the verbalise even a single word.  
Raffi huffed out a large exaggerated sigh in response. “Hey, can’t blame a girl for trying”, she winked. ‘One of these days...’, she thought.  
Quietly Raffi waved a politely dismissive hand gesture to the stall holder and declined his offer before gently ushering Seven to move along with her.  
Raffi chuckled. “Shopping’s really not your thing is it Honey?”, she asked the question to which she already clearly knew the answer.  
Seven glanced down briefly and smiled subtly as they walked side by side through the busy square.  
She hadn‘t meant to make it that obvious as she had genuinely enjoyed watching Raffi’s own enjoyment and relaxation as the XO had browsed the many stalls with interest and excitement at their various items.  
“Guilty as charged”, the xB admitted.  
Raffi stopped and turned back to Seven.  
“Look babe I don’t wanna bore you so lets go find Rios, we need to get back to the ship soon anyway”, Raffi suggested.  
Seven shook her head and placed her hand tenderly on Raffi’s arm.  
“It’s fine. Why don’t I go and find Rios? One of the bars was showing a holo-feed of a football match he wants to see. He said Chile are playing a team from Bajor”, Seven countered, “the match should be over soon so you carry on, treat yourself to something nice and join us in an hour?”.  
“Mmmmm...”, Raffi pursed her lips somewhat over dramatically and considered before finally deciding, “alright, an hour it is babe”.  
Both exchanged a soft smile in agreement and went their separate ways.  
“Oh and babe!”, Seven heard Raffi holler over the many sounds of the busy crowds as she as she walked away, “try to stay out of trouble!”.  
A smirk grew on Seven’s face and she decided against looking back, choosing instead to raise her arms in an exaggerated shrug for Raffi to see as she disappeared into the crowds.  
As she walked through the market place Seven made cursory glances at the stalls and observed their wares. Nothing on sale interested her so she continued to walk and ignored the pleas for her custom.  
As she neared the edge of the square she saw the bar Rios had told them he was going to. Cheers and roars of raised voices emanated loudly from the building as those inside watched the live feed of the football match.  
Suddenly the voices became ones of anger and frustration as those inside the bar reacted to a controversial moment in the match.  
“That’s a foul!”, one voice yelled.  
“Come on ref!”, demanded another.  
Seven took in the rowdy atmosphere of the bar and reconsidered her plan for the next hour. While Raffi had been correct that shopping was of no interest Seven saw little attraction in enduring crowds of screaming football fans either, even if Rios were among them rooting for his team.  
She looked around and observed that the market town was surrounded by a green hillside.  
She made a small nod to herself and began to walk away from the bar and towards the outskirts of the town.  
Despite the fact that Seven was not one for sight seeing she knew she could lose the better part of an hour by taking a walk up the surrounding hillside. It was, she decided, good exercise at the very least if she set a good pace.  
Within minutes Seven had left the town and proceeded up an earthy and well trodden walkers path which ascended up the hillside.  
The grass of the surrounding hillside was lush in its greenness and several trees and bushes dotted the area.  
Seven stopped and looked down to take in the view she now had of the small town and it’s busy market below her.  
She knew Raffi was down there somewhere but despite even Seven’s advanced sight she was unable to see her under the various makeshift awnings of the market stalls.  
With a small sigh of disappointment at not being able to spot Raffi Seven moved over to a wooden bench at the side of the path and sat down.  
She would, she decided, give it another thirty minutes and then she would head back to meet with Rios and Raffi at the bar ready for beam up.  
As she sat waiting for time to pass Seven took in her surroundings and noted fourteen different varieties of plant life and five distinct species of bird. Noticing these facts was, she supposed, an entirely involuntary habit xB’s were seemingly unable to discontinue.  
Before she could think any further Seven’s senses were jolted back to full alertness as the sudden light and sound of numerous transporter beams formed all around her.  
Defensively Seven rose fast to her feet as a black gloved hand swiftly grabbed her shoulder from behind.  
In the moment it took her to shove the aggressor away Seven noted in a split second that she had been surrounded by eight assailants dressed head to toe in black and with black helmets obscuring their faces.  
As the first attacker fell backwards the others made their move.  
Two more grabbed Seven by her arms with precision moves as a third rushed forward and threw a punch.  
The Fenris Ranger swiftly dodged the punch, flinging the two soldiers holding her off their feet and backwards onto the ground as she did so.  
As the attackers on the ground scrambled back to their feet the remaining five surrounding her leapt forwards.  
The first struck Seven in the lower back with a fist as the second struck a harsh blow with his knee hard into Seven’s side.  
Winded and angered Seven grabbed the wrist of the next soldier to throw a punch.  
Despite his attempts to pull himself free of her grip he was unable to react with enough speed or strength before Seven’s Borg enhanced left fist impacted with his shoulder. The sensation of cracking bone was confirmed as the soldier fell with a cry.  
Upon seeing their comrade fall injured the remaining attackers redoubled their efforts.  
Again Seven found herself being grabbed and held by soldiers that were this time more determined to keep hold of her.  
Three rapid punches struck Seven hard, two in the face and one in the stomach.  
She struggled to once again fight back, managing to shake off one of the soldiers who’s grip on her arm she had shaken lose in the struggle.  
The Ranger fought hard to force the four holding her to release thier grip as one of the remaining soldiers swept in before her and quickly pulled a dagger from where it sat sheathed in his belt.  
Sensing the danger and realising this was why the soldiers were so desperate to hold her still Seven immediately kicked out as the soldier raised the dagger.  
The attacker dropped the dagger as Seven’s boot made a hard contact with his wrist and he scrambled low to hurriedly retrieve it as Seven managed to move one arm enough to elbow one of those holding her.  
He released his grip and as he fell back Seven used this moment to lunge back a step, once more forcing another to lose his balance and let go.  
With her left arm released Seven was able to bring the full force of her strength to those still restraining her right arm.  
Her fist moved fast into the chest of the closest assailant and he released his grip, falling to the ground.  
With one left Seven hit him hard, first in the ribs and then the stomach.  
As she went for a third strike a blow to the back of the head stunned Seven, a second blow struck her again. Momentarily disoriented by the blows Seven dropped to her knees as multiple soldiers seized their chance and rushed at her.  
Some kicked, angered at having been humiliated by having been thrown to the ground while others hurled punches and insults with utter contempt at their “half breed” prey.  
Seven steeled herself with each painful blow. She could feel the sensation of her warm blood seeping from her split lip yet despite the smarting pain throughout her body she refused to yield.  
Deflecting several blows Seven glanced up to see a soldier stood before her overseeing the attack.  
Mentally targeting him she scrambled forwards, rising defiantly to her feet and lunging in rage at the black clad figure. As she reached out intending to tackle him to the ground Seven stopped in her tracks as a sharp pain hit her in the chest with a thud felt throughout her body.  
Seven froze for several moments before her knees weakened and she dropped to the ground, her eyes now fixed on the dagger that had been thrown at speed into her chest.  
“It is done, let’s go!”, one of the attackers voices called out.  
Within seconds all eight soldiers vanished in a frenzy of hurried transporter beams.  
As the peaceful green area fell back into silence Seven remained alone and lying on her side. Blood seeped through her shirt and began to mingle with the dirt and grass she lay upon.  
With a weakened hand Seven touched the dagger and saw the residue of an oily black liquid had coated her fingers.  
The stab wound in her chest felt as if a liquid fire was dispersing into her and burning it’s way into her blood stream.  
Poison.  
Seven’s hand dropped to the ground as her strength failed.  
Gradually her body began to convulse as the poison took hold, increasingly shaking in the grass with uncontrolled spasms as her vision blurred and faded.  
Seven gasped desperately. Her lungs felt as if a fire now burned within them as they gradually refused to grant the breaths she so urgently needed.  
The burning sensation continued to spread throughout Seven’s body until dizziness and a lack of breath claimed her.  
Less than a minute later the Fenris Ranger lay still...

******************

Mission Report: Tal Shiar death squad Gamma-49.  
Operation: Retribution.  
Target neutralised.  
Mission accomplished.  
Minimal injuries.

******************


	2. Waiting...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The crew are there for each other as they await news of Seven’s condition...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks again Troods for being the test subject...

The Vigil - Chapter 2.

Waiting.

A deeply uncomfortable atmosphere filled all of La Sirena’s spaces and had done so for several hours now.  
The peaceful stop off at this small colony had been seen as a chance for several hours of R&R and a chance for the freighters crew to stretch their legs in sunshine and real fresh air outside of the confines of the small ship.  
The colony had seemed the perfect choice to give everybody a few hours break.  
It was an unremarkable planet, a few welcoming settlements with vibrant markets, a few bars, restaurants, lush greenery and bright warm weather that was just spot on.  
‘Then why did it go so fucking wrong?’, Rios thought to himself.  
His arms were wrapped supportively around his friend of many years as he stood embracing her shaking body in her distraught state.  
Raffi’s tears had soaked themselves into Rios black shirt as he held her and her face rested against his shoulder.  
Every so often the freighter captain would gently hush this dear friend, softly patting her back in a vain attempt at trying to sooth her distress while all the time keeping his own eyes fixed on the sickbay doors that had been sealed since Seven had been found and brought swiftly back onboard.  
“Seven’s tough as old boots Raff”, his voice adopted a gentle tone as he spoke quietly into Raffi’s ear, “she’ll be fine”.  
Why then, Rios thought, did he not feel convinced by that statement?  
Raffi held Cris tighter, embracing him as if he were all she had left and she feared to let go of him.  
“The EHM is doing all he can, and Agnes is in there too should her cybernetics expertise be needed”, Rios once more reassured his dear friend, “everyone’s fighting for her, I promise”.  
Wordlessly Raffi nodded.  
The only other sound audible in the crew mess area in which they waited was the quiet padding of Elnors feet.  
The anxious young Romulan’s face was damp from having wiped away tears that had continued to gather. His eyes were both puffy and red and he fought to contain the swirl of emotions that surged within him as he paced back and forth across the mess room.  
He wanted to cry, to fall onto a seat at the table, hold his head in his hands and let it pour out. He wanted desperately to hug Raffi, and for them to hold each other and cry together as they had done back on Coppelius when Picard’s mortal body had succumbed to it’s illness.  
He clenched and unclenched his fists as he paced and looked to Raffi held in the arms of Captain Rios. The Romulan’s lip quivered briefly but this time he fought, pushing his tears back down.  
All he wanted, for both himself and everyone, was some news.  
Like the others Elnor was desperate and becoming more so as minutes had turned into hours and no word had come from the sickbay.  
Even the side windows of the sickbay were blocked from allowing any view.  
He looked again at the closed sickbay doors pleadingly, silently wishing for an update, a word, a hint, anything.  
Seven was his friend, his mentor...his hero...and he was heartbroken.  
If the news was not good, if Seven were to not make it, then Elnor swore to himself that his full fury would be unleashed and those who did this would meet their end at the point of his blade.  
For now though he knew he had to bury his anger, to channel it to be strong for both Seven and for Raffi.  
Sensing a movement in the corner of his eye Elnor looked around to see Admiral Picard descending the steps from the bridge deck followed by Soji.  
The old man’s expression was sombre as he took the final step down and gauged the mood.  
The terrible toll of losing people, people you knew, on away missions was something Starfleet captains had no choice but to come to terms with. Yet this had been no away mission, this had simply been intended as a pleasant day out for La Sirena’s crew, a change of pace and brief chance to unwind.  
Picard moved slowly over toward Rios, nodding an acknowledgment to Elnor as he walked.  
“The Holo’s have everything under control”, he spoke quietly to confirm the ships status to Rios.  
The Captain nodded his silent thanks.  
Hearing the old mans voice Raffi looked up and withdrew slightly from the steadying embrace of Rios.  
Gently the freighter captain kept a light grasp of her arm, steadying her as she stood back to acknowledge the admiral.  
“Hey...”, Raffi spoke with what little strength and courage she could still muster.  
She wiped her tears with the back of a hand and feigned the briefest of grateful smiles at Picard.  
“No word yet JL...”, Raffi shook her head and several wild curls drooped forwards across her tired face.  
Picard breathed out gently as he watched his friends turmoil.  
In all his years he had rarely met anybody as passionate as Raffi Musiker and he knew from old that any emotion she felt was displayed openly.  
Seeing his friend, his former XO, his confidant, in such distress caused him a great wave of sadness for he knew that whatever pain Raffi displayed outwardly was intensified a thousand fold within her.  
The Admiral raised a hand and slowly rested it on Raffi’s shoulder.  
“News will come when it is ready”, he assured in his best reassuring tone, sombre yet gentle.  
He considered using a more confident tone, the sort used to reassure those around him during times of crisis back on the Enterprise and the Verity, but he knew Raffi always instinctively saw through that pretence.  
“The old man’s right”, Rios agreed, his arm still offered for support as Raffi stood between the two former Starfleet officers.  
“Yeah...”, Raffi rapidly nodded, “just....yeah...”.  
There was a nervous agitation in both her actions and voice. The thumb of one hand constantly rubbed at her index finger, she bit her lower lip every few moments and her other hand ran through her hair before settling on pushing back and fiddling with her errant curls.  
“Shhhh...”, Rios hushed and took both of Raffi’s hands tenderly into his own and clasped his warmly around hers, “We’ve got you Raff”.  
Picard moved his hand where it sat upon Raffi’s shoulder and gave a soft squeeze in solidarity to his friend and to support Rios actions in calming her.  
Across the room Elnor had ceased pacing, stopping to glance towards Raffi as he found himself with little or no idea what to do.  
“You okay?”, Soji asked quietly as she approached him, her face curious yet concerned.  
Elnor nodded several times and then stopped.  
He cast his eyes down to the ground reconsidering his answer to Soji’s question.  
He did not know if he had made the transgression of making a lie, or if he truly did not know if he were currently okay or not.  
He looked back up and faced Soji, feeling the need for there to be the truth of absolute candour in his answer.  
His eyes grew watery once again as he felt himself begin to break.  
He had tried so hard to be strong for Raffi, strong for Seven.  
Rethinking his answer, he looked to Soji stood before him and now shook his head repeatedly instead.  
“No...”, his lip quivered.  
“Come here”, Soji urged softly and held out her arms to embrace the young Romulan.  
Elnor moved forwards, willingly accepting the hug and allowing his tears to flow freely down his face as he let down his guard.  
The only other person on this ship who had ever hugged him, he recalled, was Seven when she had come to his aid on the cube.  
“Nobody’s okay today”, Soji confirmed, “you’re not alone, its alright”.  
Over the next few minutes silence ensued as both groups supported each other in their continued wait.  
More and more minutes passed by until finally the doors to the sickbay slid open startling all who waited outside.  
The rise in tension from the assembled shipmates was palpable as everybody observed Emil the EMH stood central in the open doorway, hands in his pockets and his expression hard to read.  
Behind him stood Agnes Jurati.  
Her eyes flicked nervously from the EMH and then to Raffi before finally settling on Rios.  
Quickly Agnes rolled the sleeves of her white medical coat back, realising to her horror that one sleeve bore a smear of Seven’s blood.  
“Tell us...”, Rios urged and placed his arm around Raffi ready to support her whatever the news might be.  
Emil took one step forward.  
“She ‘s alive”, he revealed.  
Sighs and murmurs of relief sounded yet Emil’s expression remained grave.  
Raffi took a step forward. She felt immense relief at knowing Seven was alive, yet the gravity in both Emil and Agnes’ expressions warned her that the news was not all good.  
“Seven’s condition is serious, very serious”, the EMH summarised, “she remains in a coma but there is more to explain if you would all come this way?”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so much if you’re following.  
> More next week!


	3. News

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The EMH reveals the severity of Seven’s condition and a possible glimmer of hope...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much to Troodz for reading and re-reading and to everyone who is (hopefully) following. Give me a shout in the comments if you exist?
> 
> Thanks also to the Tumblr account mappinglasirena for existing so I can check and recheck sickbay!

The Vigil

Chapter 3 - News

As requested, the assembled group apprehensively followed the EMH and Agnes into the main area of the sickbay. As they entered Emil gestured for everyone to gather at the white round table positioned in the centre of the room.  
Inevitably the eyes of everyone in the group were drawn to the occupied outwards facing biobed in the next section of the sickbay.  
“Seven”, Raffi spoke without even realising and took a step towards the bed.  
Emil moved a step to the side and blocked Raffi’s path, holding his palms up and indicating for her to stop.  
“I’m sorry”, he began apologetically, “but as her physician I cannot allow her to be disturbed just now. Please”.  
Raffi stared wordlessly and her heart skipped a beat or two.  
She recognised Seven’s form where she lay. Her blonde hair lay tattered and her arms rested unmoving at her sides above the cover of the biobed.  
Respectfully Agnes moved closer to Raffi. She gently placed a hand on the much taller womans forearm and guided her toward the table.  
“The EMH has a lot to tell everyone first”, Agnes explained as gently as she could, “You should be able to see her later, right?”.  
With some initial reluctance the EMH nodded his agreement at this trade off to both Raffi and Agnes. “Just for a few moments”, he agreed.  
With everyone gathered around the table Emil moved to the side of the sickbay, picked an object up off the circular work top and returned to the round table.  
“I’ll start at the beginning”, he said and placed the object down in the centre of the white table.  
It was a dagger, sharp bladed and coated in the remnants of an oily black substance mixed further down the blade with it’s victims now dried blood.  
“This”, Emil pointed, “is the dagger used to stab Seven”.  
Raffi observed the weapon that had brought such harm to Seven. As she looked she recalled knowledge and information from her days as an expert in Romulan affairs and she scowled at it with loathing.  
“That’s a damn Romulan blade”, she hissed in an almost-whisper, her tone both surprised and disappointed. Clearly she had not expected this revelation.  
Picard leant forward slightly to examine the details of the dagger more closely as recognition formed in his mind too.  
“I concur”, he agreed and turned his head towards Soji stood next to him, “infact, it’s the same design as the dagger that killed your sisters boyfriend back on Earth. Similar daggers were seized after the attack on the chateaux”.  
Soji looked to Picard and then to everyone else in this gathering as she too realised the implication of this revelation.  
“Tal Shiar”, she agreed, “the Tal Shiar did this”.  
Picard nodded in agreement. “A Tal Shiar death squad most likely”.  
“Just like those who murdered Dahj”, Soji said quietly.  
Picard, Raffi and Soji looked to each other in agreement at the awful conclusion the evidence drew them to.  
Raffi looked down and sighed. She was exhausted, her nerves were frayed with her constant worry over Seven’s condition and now she knew the Tal Shiar were behind the attack.  
Rios once more placed his arm around Raffi’s shoulders to support his friend as this new information sunk in.  
“Why target Seven though?”, Agnes cut in with some confusion, “what’s she ever done to the Romulans?”.  
“She stole their Borg cube”, Elnor answered immediately and his eyes looked around the table for agreement.  
Picard gave a slow nod in response. “She stole their Artefact, their years of Borg research and liberated every single xB onboard that cube from Romulan control”.  
Planting both hands firmly on the table in frustration Elnor exhaled sharply.  
“They murdered Hugh, I will not allow them to take Seven’s life too”, the young Romulan’s voice raised, “I will find them and I’ll...I’ll..”.  
Raffi looked up towards Elnor and for the first time in hours her expression softened.  
“That’s sweet Honey”, Raffi smiled with a genuine appreciation for the young Romulan’s sentiment, “but I know Seven wouldn’t approve of you doing anything rash”.  
“Plus she’d break that sword of yours over your head when she found out”, Rios added.  
Elnor looked down and his shoulders slumped, dejected. He just wanted to do something, anything to help his friend.  
Nobody said a word for the next few moments.  
“If I may continue on to Seven’s condition?”, the EMH spoke once more to draw the attention back onto himself and his task.  
Raffi nodded wordlessly, her nerves once again spiking and she felt Rios hand squeeze her shoulder in support.  
The EMH activated a holo imager that sat on the round table and keyed in some instructions to transfer over Seven’s bioscans.  
A moment later a holo image appeared in the air above the table depicting a scan of Seven’s body.  
The image displayed scans of vital organs within the body with various information, readouts and numbers showing live information regarding each organ.  
Nobody gathered could fail to notice the unusual metal objects the scans had also detected throughout most of the body.  
Patches of skull, her cortical node, ocular implant, unknown metallic shapes on and around various organs, metal fused with various bones, and most notably Seven’s unique spine were all revealed.  
The EMH cleared his throat.  
“Currently Seven of Nine is reasonably stable”, the holo spoke as he noted the live readings on the floating image.  
“Reasonably?”, Raffi queried.  
“Her heart rate and blood pressure are both lower than I would like but given that you have just confirmed my suspicions regarding the source of dagger she may have been luckier than any of you realise”, Emil explained.  
“You tell me just how in the Hell that’s lucky”, Rios demanded and nodded his head in Seven’s direction.  
Emil leant forward and once again picked up the dagger. He held it up for all to see.  
“It’s a sad irony really”, he began, “on it’s own this dagger and the wound it inflicted didn’t actually cause Seven much harm”.  
“How is that possible?”, Elnor enquired.  
“Oh make no mistake it was a nasty wound, painful too, but she had a little something on her side”, Emil began his explanation and then reached forward to the holo image of Seven’s body.  
He waved his fingers over the image and zoomed in close enough to bring up a scan of Seven’s heart.  
He pointed his finger at the vital organ, highlighting a metallic implant grafted into a section of her heart.  
“This was her saving grace”, the EMH continued, “while the dagger did indeed penetrate her chest, this implant shielded her heart from the full blow. If it had struck any of you instead you would be dead”.  
Another few seconds of silence followed as everyone digested Seven’s sheer luck.  
“And the implant?”, Raffi dared to ask as many panicked thoughts ran through her head suddenly regarding possible damage.  
Agnes raised her hand to speak. She wasn’t even sure why she did that.  
“I studied The Borg a little at Daystrom, y’know cybernetics and all that...”, she began, “I’ve scanned the implant, zoomed in on it, monitored it and from what I can tell I think it’s safe to say it’s fine, after all it’s tritanium based. Well, it might have a scratch but that’s all”.  
Finally Raffi allowed herself a small smile. Was it possible, she wondered that things might work out after all?  
“Then why is she in a coma?”, Soji gave voice to the question nobody had asked.  
Emil zoomed the holo image back out to the body scan and once more held up the dagger to remind everyone of it’s presence.  
“That’s where this comes in again”, his voice began to lose it’s hopeful edge, “and this is where we have a problem”.  
Raffi looked down as her hope once again darkened.  
Emil held the blade up for show and picked up a sterile dressing from the table.  
He rubbed the sharp blade carefully against it and held the white material out for all to see as he placed the dagger carefully back down.  
The dressing came away smeared with the oily black liquid.  
“I’ve run this through the Federation database and I’ve identified it as a substance known as X47R”, Emil recounted, “It’s a genetically engineered substance known mostly for being...”.  
“...The poison of choice for the Goddamn Tal Shiar”, Raffi interrupted and finished the sentence.  
“I’m afraid so”, Emil fell silent.  
“They uh...”, Raffi struggled to compile her thoughts now and looked around to all her shipmates, “...they use that stuff ‘cos it’s uhm...it’s one hundred percent fatal... and uh, oh god Cris, JL, there’s no antidote for it!”.  
Instinctively Rios pulled Raffi closer, holding her tight with his arm around her shoulder.  
“That may not be strictly true about the lack of a antidote...”, Emil cut in.  
Finding his patience running thin with the stresses of the day Rios glared hard at his medical likeness.  
“If you’ve got something useful to say then I strongly suggest you fucking say it now!”, he snapped.  
“Easy Cris”, Agnes held up a hand hoping Rios would calm, “the EMH has put a lot of study into this and he may be onto something”.  
“Well go on then...”, he urged briskly.  
Emil nodded his compliance and turned his thoughts back to the matter at hand.  
“All information I’ve found indicates that the Romulans favour this poison because it kills within thirty to sixty seconds - apparently they like their victim to know who killed them”, the EMH recounted his research, “yet Seven was fifteen minutes late when you found her?”.  
Rios nodded and Raffi looked back up intrigued.  
“Seven doesn’t do late so when she didn’t show Raffi and I went looking for her”, Rios recalled the events, “a few minutes later we saw a med team rushing her back into the town, apparently some walkers found her”.  
“And that’s when you called for an emergency beam up and activated the EMH?”, Agnes finished Rios’ story.  
The freighter captain nodded.  
“She was barely alive”, Raffi recalled, “all that blood, I couldn’t even feel her breath”.  
“But she WAS alive! Atleast just...”, the EMH’s voice jumped with a renewed enthusiasm, “and long after she shouldn’t have been!”.  
Once more he waved his fingers over the holo image of Seven’s body adjusting the setting to alter the scanning parameters.  
“There!”, he pointed, “do you see that?”.  
The gathered crew members all leaned in somewhat and fixed their eyes on the holo image which now depicted odd clusters forming around damaged areas of both Seven’s brain and her vital organs, most notably her heart and lungs.  
“Seven’s last line of defense”, Emil pointed to one of the clusters.  
“Nanoprobes”, Agnes smiled, “all three point six million of them”.  
“The one thing the Tal Shiar never took into account”, Picard observed as his voice took on a slightly more triumphant tone.  
Raffi breathed out a breath she hadn’t realised she had been holding as the EMH continued his train of thought.  
“X47R kills by slipping quickly into the victims bloodstream”, Emil pointed again to the holo image and traced a path from the stab wound with his finger, “it then proceeds to burn it’s way like acid into the brain and vital organs and attacks both within seconds. Once it reaches the brain it shuts down the connections that instruct the heart and lungs to function. The organs fail and the victim dies. This all occurs in less than a minute”.  
Emil now nodded to Agnes, prompting the cyberneticist to continue their theory.  
“We think that when Seven was stabbed her nanoprobes identified the poison as a threat and have been attacking it ever since”, the small blonde explained, “the swarms of nanoprobes are trying to repair Seven’s damaged organs while shielding any undamaged areas”.  
Emil again moved to point to the holo image, this time pointing to the swarm of nanoprobes within the brain.  
“And this swarm is maintaining the neural connections within Seven’s brain that instructs the lungs to breathe and the heart to beat”.  
“So what happens now?”, Raffi pleaded, “We just sit around an see who wins?”.  
Emil placed his hands back in his pockets and considered the question.  
“I wish I had a magical cure but essentially yes, that’s right’, Emil nodded to Raffi and then to all, “oh I can make her comfortable and I can certainly administer drugs to boost her own natural immune system, but in the long term this is a fight only Seven can win or lose”.  
“I suppose there is no firm prognosis?”, Picard asked although he was certain he already knew the answer. He simply felt it fair that it be spelt out for all to digest.  
“This is uncharted medical territory”, the EMH admitted, “to be blunt, Seven will either recover or she won’t. She may wake and recover in hours, days, weeks, or the poison may simply kill her slowly”.  
Another silence permeated the sickbay as everybody retreated to their own thoughts.  
“She will recover”, Elnor suddenly announced and everybody looked to him, “I believe in her”.  
Raffi responded with a halfhearted smile. She wanted to agree with Elnor and tell him that he was right, that nothing would beat Seven, but she understood how high these stakes were.  
The EMH turned on his heel and took a couple of steps towards Raffi.  
“You may see her for a few moments”, he offered quietly.  
Rios nodded and removed his arm from his friends shoulder. “Go to her”, he urged.  
Raffi nodded to both Rios and Emil in gratitude.  
She turned from the table and walked apprehensively the few steps that took her to the biobed upon which Seven lay.  
Raffi looked down as she approached the side of the bed and looked at Seven’s still form.  
Her emotions whirled in the knowledge that she only had mere moments to see Seven tonight.  
In reality Raffi wanted nothing more than to remain at Seven’s side, to clasp hold of her hand and speak to her gently for however long it took for her to recover.  
For now she knew mere moments were all she had.  
She felt huge relief at the simple act of seeing Seven yet simultaneously a sadness clouded over her as she noted the Ranger’s pale complexion as if the life had been drained from her.  
“So pale...”, Raffi thought aloud in little more than a whisper.  
“She’s fighting with all she’s got”, Emil said as he kept a respectful distance a couple of steps back, hands in pockets.  
“She uh... she just looks like she’s sleeping”, Raffi observed and quickly moved to wipe an emerging tear as it formed, “she looks peaceful”.  
“I’ve healed her physical wounds”, Emil said as he searched for something positive to add, “but these next twenty four hours are critical to her standing a fighting chance”.  
“Thank you”, Raffi spoke gently but didn’t take her eyes away from Seven, “for saving her”.  
“It’s what I do”, the hologram bowed his head briefly, “but for now she really must rest, and so must you. I’ll draw up a list of visiting hours for the next few days and you can see her again tomorrow.”.  
Raffi reached out and lightly touched the back of Seven’s resting hand with her fingertips.  
“Get some sleep now, it seems someone is waiting for you”, Emil suggested and indicated towards the main entrance of the sickbay where Rios stood silently waiting.  
Reluctantly Raffi moved her fingers from Seven’s hand.  
“Come back to me babe...”, she urged quietly as she stepped away and began to walk towards the waiting Rios.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Note: I made the tiniest of little boo-boo’s with this chapter but decided to leave it in and confess to it because I can explain it...  
> I forgot Picard never saw the dagger that killed Dahj’s boyfriend when Laris reconstructed it BUT BUT BUT a dagger was thrown when the Tal Shiar death squad attacked the chateaux and he would have seen it amongst the captured weapons that Laris & Zhaban were seen putting to one side.  
> I also wouldn’t be surprised if Laris had been able to deconstruct more of the murder scene later on from her scans, so lets go with that.  
> I wasn’t going to add this note but I’m annoyed at myself for misremembering a mere two seconds of screen time >.>
> 
> More next Wednesday! Be there or be a Borg cube!

**Author's Note:**

> I have done some research while writing this but if any medical/coma events in this are not as in the real world, please take it as being that...
> 
> A) as an xB Seven may react/recover differently to you and me.
> 
> B) your author is not a Doctor.
> 
> Hope you’ll all enjoy this ride!


End file.
